Ministry of Defence

Afghanistan: Refugees

Lord Evans of Weardale: To ask His Majesty's Government whether former members of the Afghan Special Police Commando Force 333 benefit from the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy; and if not, why not.

Baroness Goldie: The ARAP scheme provides relocation or other assistance specifically to Afghan nationals who worked for or alongside UK forces in support of the UK's mission in Afghanistan, as set out in the specific eligibility criteria in the ARAP policy. Members of the Afghan national security forces such as Commando Force 333 "whilst their efforts heroic" are not automatically in scope for relocation under ARAP unless they meet these criteria. Those who are eligible can also apply for support in the UK under Op NEWHOPE. The Ministry of Defence works closely with third sector partners to deliver Operation NEWHOPE, which is our pastoral commitment to support the individuals who have and want to maintain their Defence connection by providing camaraderie, community support, and pathways to employment.

Air Force

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Service Inquiry into the loss of the F-35B Lightning ZM152 (BK-18) of 617 Squadron, embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth on 17 November 2021, what steps they are taking to address the findings that617 Squadron "was under strength, morale was low, there were insufficient Quality Assurance checks being conducted at Marham and general readiness for FORTIS was lower than COMUKCSG had been led to believe".

Baroness Goldie: As a direct result of the lessons identified during and post Operation FORTIS, embarked engineering workforce levels were significantly increased, in recognition of the additional workload and fatigue associated with embarked operations. Since 2021, RAF Marham has been subject to two external third-party audits, with the most recent concluding that previously identified shortfalls had been resolved, or that appropriate corrective action plans were in place. The unit maintains a full internal quality audit programme with regular continuous-improvement events and independent engineering standard evaluations. Readiness for embarked operations is constantly scrutinised, and optimised where required, during regular Carrier Strike multi-disciplinary meetings.

Ministry of Defence: Lost Property

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: To ask His Majesty's Government to list the items handed into lost property offices at UK military bases and Ministry of Defence sites in 2022–23.

Baroness Goldie: Once Ministry of Defence officials have finalised collation of the necessary information, I will write to the noble Lady and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Type 26 Frigates: Procurement

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking tospeed up delivery of the Type 26 frigatesso as to avoid any decrease in the number ofRoyal Navy frigates.

Baroness Goldie: The delivery rate for the Type 26 ships is the optimum that can be achieved considering all relevant factors. Four of the Type 26 ships are now in construction on the Clyde. On current plans, HMS GLASGOW is forecast to achieve Initial Operating Capability in 2028 and construction of all eight frigates is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s. The Type 26 Batch 2 deal introduces further investment in BAE Systems’ facilities on the Clyde, most obviously demonstrated by the start of work on a new shipbuilding hall at Govan. The new hall will allow two frigates to be built under cover simultaneously and allow the ships to be built faster, improving efficiency in the programme, and expanding the facilities for future work at the yard.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Lord Evans of Weardale: To ask His Majesty's Government how many former members of the Afghan Special Police Commando Force 333 have applied to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy; and how many have been rejected.

Baroness Goldie: It is not possible to provide a breakdown of these figures by job role or specific unit. Not all members of the Afghan Armed Forces, including specific units such as Commando Force 333, will automatically be eligible for ARAP.

Nuclear Submarines: Deployment

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the reason that none of the Royal Navy’s six commissioned SSNs was at sea at the end of August, as shown by open source reporting, relates toinadequate material state, support infrastructure issues, crew shortages, or a combination of those; and whetherProject Resolution will resolve such long-standing issues.

Baroness Goldie: We can confirm that we are meeting all our operational commitments, and will continue to ensure we have the workforce, support arrangements and facilities required to maintain availability in the future. For operational security reasons we do not comment on the availability of Royal Navy submarines.

Ministry of Defence: Theft

Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent: To ask His Majesty's Government to list the items stolen from UK military bases and Ministry of Defence sites with a value of more than £100 in 2022–23.

Baroness Goldie: This information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Destroyers and Frigates

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether maintaining a fleet of a minimum of19 operational Destroyers and Frigates is still realistic and sufficient; and, if not, what the new minimum will be.

Baroness Goldie: The government is committed to modernising the Royal Navy's escort fleet through the transition of the existing Type 23 frigate force to the Type 26 and Type 31 classes. This will bring the number of destroyers and frigates to 19. This is a realistic programme which will enable the Royal Navy to maintain its operational commitments.

Department for Business and Trade

Employment

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of people employed in insecure work; and what steps they are taking to ensure that more employees have secure work.

The Earl of Minto: The Government has taken a range of steps to support people in insecure work. We have supported six Private Members’ Bills in this Parliamentary session, which will give benefits including easier access to flexible working and a more predictable working pattern. In April 2023, we increased the National Living Wage by 9.7%, the largest ever cash increase. We have extended the ban on using exclusivity clauses to the lowest paid, ensuring an estimated 1.5 million people have the option to pick up extra work. We closed an unfair loophole to stop agency workers being employed on cheaper rates than permanent workers.

Small Businesses: Billing

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent research published by Intuit QuickBooks this month on the impact of late payments on small and medium-sized enterprises, which found that41 per cent believe their businesses are at risk of shutting down within the next year if late payments persist.

The Earl of Minto: The Government is aware that late payment remains a significant problem for small businesses across the country. That is why at the beginning of 2023 the Government launched a review of Cash flow and Prompt Payment, alongside a public consultation on the Payment Performance Regulations. The findings of the review, alongside the consultation response, will be published later in 2023. The Government will use the findings of this review to improve the Payment Performance Regulations, the Small Business Commissioner, and the Prompt Payment Code to improve payment culture in the UK, to reduce late payments and its impact on SMEs.

Living Wage

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Living Wage Foundation's "Living Hours" standard; and what steps they are taking to encourage employers to adopt that standard.

The Earl of Minto: The Government commends employers who are able to go above the requirements of minimum wage and employment legislation. However, the Living Wage Foundation are clear that their measures are voluntary. Our statutory minimum wage rates are based on the expert and independent advice of the Low Pay Commission; the LPC takes into account the impacts on workers, businesses and the wider economy to ensure a fair balance is struck.

Postal Services: Standards

Lord Naseby: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the directors of Royal Mail to restore the target to deliver 93 per cent of first-class mail within one working day of collection.

The Earl of Minto: It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification. Ofcom is currently undertaking an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet its quality of service performance targets, including the delivery of 93% of First Class mail within one working day of collection, for 2022-23.

Treasury

Foreign Companies: Registration

Lord Agnew of Oulton: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany applications for trust information from the Trust Registration Service have been (1) successful, (2) refused because the trust is exempt, (3) refused because the gateway test is not met, (4) refused because individuals are exempt, and (5) refused for other reasons, in each year the TRS has been in operation, broken down by gateway such as a legitimate interest or offshore company.

Baroness Penn: Since the process for applying for information on the Trust Registration Service (TRS) came into force on 1 September 2022, c20 valid trust data requests have been processed. To date, no requests have been successful.  Of the c5 legitimate interest requests processed, fewer than five of the trusts were found on the TRS and fewer than five requests were refused because the requestor did not meet the legitimate interest test criteria. Of the c15 offshore company requests processed, fewer than five of the trusts were found on the TRS. Fewer than five requests have been refused because information on individual beneficial owners was exempt from disclosure. The numbers above have been rounded to the nearest five as disclosing the exact numbers would potentially disclose information held by HMRC in relation to identifiable persons. References to ‘fewer than five’ are inclusive of nil.

Housing: Costs

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to help homeownerswho are struggling with rising housing costs.

Baroness Penn: The pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, we recognise this is a concerning time for mortgage borrowers.  On Friday 23 June the Chancellor met with the UK’s largest mortgage lenders, UK Finance and the Financial Conduct Authority to discuss how lenders will provide support for those who encounter problems keeping up with their mortgage payments. At this meeting, lenders agreed to a new Mortgage Charter to support borrowers struggling with their mortgage payments that was published on 26 June. The Charter sets out the standards signatory lenders will adopt when helping their customers, including new flexibilities to help customers manage their mortgage payments over a short period.  The Charter is in addition to the significant safeguards already in place for consumers in the mortgage market. Financial Conduct Authority rules require lenders to engage individually with their customers who are struggling or who are worried about their payments in order to provide tailored support. The Government has also taken measures aimed at helping people to avoid repossession, including Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) loans, protection in the courts through the Pre-Action Protocol, and the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS).  Importantly, the Government also remains committed to providing a fair deal for renters and landlords. The Renters (Reform) Bill currently making its way through Parliament will deliver the government’s commitment to ‘a better deal for renters’ – improving the system for responsible tenants and good faith landlords. Furthermore, we remain committed to improving the supply of affordable housing, and the £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme will deliver thousands of affordable homes to both rent and buy right across the country.

Religious Buildings: Insurance Premium Tax

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: To ask His Majesty's Government how much revenue is raised from (1) local churches, chapels and meeting houses, and (2) all places of worship, from Insurance Premium Tax.

Baroness Penn: HMRC does not hold the information requested. Insurance Premium Tax returns do not include a breakdown of the tax due on specific products, as this may impose an excessive administrative burden on customers.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries: Migrant Workers

Lord Knight of Weymouth: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the recent addition of fishing occupations to the skilled worker visa shortage occupation list on the fishing industry; and what plans they have to ensure that that industry has an adequately skilled workforce.

Lord Benyon: The addition of two fishing occupations to the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) is part of the Government’s comprehensive package to support fishing businesses make use of the Skilled Worker visa. These occupations will benefit from dispensations from the immigration system, including lower salary thresholds and visa fees. Given the occupations were only added to the SOL on 7 August, it is too early to assess uptake of the offer. The Government has also awarded £1.1 million under the UK Seafood Fund to help skill up and train workers in the UK seafood sector.

Dangerous Dogs

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increasing number ofdog attacks on (1) other animals, and (2) people; and what plans they have to (a) review, and (b) amend, the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 to add new breeds in view of these increasing attacks.

Lord Benyon: We recognise dog attacks can have horrific consequences and we take this issue very seriously. The Government is taking urgent action to bring forward a ban on XL Bully dog types following a concerning rise in attacks and fatalities, which appear to be driven by this type of dog. We intend to have the legislation in place to deliver this ban by the end of the year.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Pakistan: Blasphemy

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the developments in the Supreme Court of Pakistan case on the application by Samuel Payara (C.M.A.7748/2023) after the court adjourned proceedings and requested from the Sargodha administration the text of its agreement with Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) regarding blasphemy monitoring in areas inhabited by Christian community members; and whether they have raised this matter with the government of that country.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), including for minority communities, remains central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. On 13 September, I [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon] discussed the treatment of marginalised religious communities, including the Christian community, with Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. On 6 September, I condemned attacks against religious minorities in my meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner. We continue to raise the issue of blasphemy laws privately at the highest levels. On 27 June, I raised the use of blasphemy laws to target marginalised religious communities with Pakistan's then-Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Rugby: World Cup

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the findings and recommendations of the Rodrigues inquiry, regarding the experiences of Liverpool FC fans at the Champion's League Final at the Stade de France in 2022, what plans they have to discuss with the government of France the impact on English rugby fans of the crowd control measures in place at the Rugby World Cup match at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on 9 September.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: After some spectators experienced delays entering the Stade Vélodrome in Marseilles on 9 September, officials from HM Government engaged with the French authorities and their counterparts in the France 2023 Organising Committee and have received reassurance that improvements, including clearer signage, will be in place for future Rugby World Cup 2023 matches.Improvements were in place for matches on Sunday 10 September. Officials continue to engage with the French authorities on security arrangements for the tournament more broadly.The safety of all attendees at sporting events is of the highest importance to HM Government and the Secretary of State and the Sports Minister have engaged with their counterparts regularly following the Champions League Final in Paris in 2022. We continue to consider and reflect on the lessons learned from the events in Paris in 2022 to inform planning for the UEFA Champions League Final in 2024 at Wembley, as well as the UK and Ireland’s EURO 2028 bid.

Cabinet Office

Prisons: Domestic Visits

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government how many times a Prime Minister has visited one of His Majesty's prisons since 2010, and in which years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: This information is not centrally collated. However, information on the Prime Minister’s official visits can be found on the gov.uk website as part of the government’s transparency agenda.

National Security

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government how they define (1) a hostile state, and (2) which states they consider currently meet that definition.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: HMG does not have an agreed definition of the term ‘hostile state[s]’. While the term is sometimes used by officials and Ministers, it is not centrally defined and does not describe any specific category of states.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Housing: Disability and Older People

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that new builds are accessible to older people and people with disabilities.

Baroness Swinburne: I refer the Lord Bishop to the answer given to Question UIN HL8422 on 26 June 2023.HL8422 (pdf, 72.7KB)

Retail Trade: Urban Areas

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to establish a royal commission to address the closure of high street stores.

Baroness Swinburne: While there are currently no plans to establish a royal commission, this Government is fully committed to supporting the businesses and communities that make our high streets and town centres successful.In May 2022 we introduced the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill. This new legislation will play an important role in reviving our high streets by introducing High Street Rental Auctions (HSRA). HSRAs will empower places to tackle decline by bringing vacant units back into use and will seek to increase cooperation between landlords and local authorities, and to make town centre tenancies more accessible and affordable for tenants, including SMEs, local businesses and community groups. HSRA will be backed by £2 million to help communities and local businesses take control of empty properties, covering the cost of refurbishing properties, the auction process and council fees.As part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published on 27 March, Government announced a High Street Accelerator pilot programme. Accelerators will incentivise and empower local people to work together to develop ambitious plans to tackle vacancy and reinvent their high streets so that they are fit for the future.Action Plan (pdf, 90.5KB)

Freeports

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government how many freeports they have established in the past three years; and where they are.

Baroness Swinburne: Excellent progress has been made with Freeport delivery - all English Freeports are open for business and seven out of eight have final government approval. We have also announced two new Green Freeports in Scotland as well as two new Freeports in Wales. The location of each Freeport can be found on the Freeports page on GOV.UK . Freeport Gov.uk (pdf, 543.9KB)

Housing: Solar Power

Baroness Quin: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to introducing legislation to make solar panels mandatory for all new house building projects except for in exceptional circumstances.

Baroness Swinburne: I refer the noble Lady to the answer given to Question UIN 198649  on 19 September 2023.UIN 198649 (pdf, 63.6KB)

Housing: Construction

Baroness Quin: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to consider introducing measuresto ensure that no new housing developments are permitted in areas where the sewage system is already unable to prevent the discharge of raw sewage into neighbouring rivers.

Baroness Swinburne: The National Planning Policy Framework expects local planning authorities to plan for the development and infrastructure required in their area, including infrastructure for wastewater and utilities. They should work with other providers, such as sewage companies, to assess the quality and capacity of infrastructure and its ability to meet forecast demands The Government has made a commitment, as part of its reform package under the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill, to consult on whether or not we should make water companies statutory consultees on certain planning applications, and if so, how best to do this. It will be important that water companies engage local planning authorities on the right applications at the right time so they can input effectively and not slow down the application process.

Buildings: Concrete

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the amountof reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete in buildings other than schools.

Baroness Swinburne: I refer the noble Lady to the response given to Question UIN 197493 on 11 September 2023. UIN 197493 (pdf, 223.1KB)

Local Plans

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of local authorities who have up to date local plans; and what steps they plan to take to encourage local authorities who have not yet submitted their local plans to do so.

Baroness Swinburne: Information on the status of Local Plans is published by the Planning Inspectorate at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-plan-monitoring-progress.The Government has been very clear that all local authorities should have a plan in place. Local Plan monitoring progress (pdf, 91.3KB)

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government what are theplanned contents of each exhibition room in the proposed Holocaust Memorial Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens.

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost ofexcavation in Victoria Tower Gardens to create space for the proposed Learning Centre associated with the Holocaust Memorial; and what savings in costs would be made if the Learning Centre were located in an existing building in the area.

Baroness Swinburne: Cost estimates for excavation at the chosen site are commercially sensitive and not suitable for publication at this time. No estimates have been made for locating the Learning Centre at a hypothetical site.Information about the Learning Centre's content was presented at the public inquiry and is available on the Westminster City Council website: westminster.gov.uk/sites/default/files/cd_8.9_proof_of_evidence_of_stephen_greenberg_1.pdf .

Homelessness: Families

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support homeless families affected by problems in the housing market.

Baroness Swinburne: For those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, we are investing over £1 billion in the Homelessness Prevention Grant over three years, including a £109 million top-up to the Homelessness Prevention Grant this year. Local authorities can use the funding flexibly to meet their homelessness and rough sleeping strategies - for example, to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions or to provide temporary accommodation.This is part of the wider £2 billion we are spending to tackle homelessness and end rough sleeping over three years, and comes alongside our work to support new arrivals from Ukraine and Afghanistan, as well as those reliant on temporary accommodation, through the Local Authority Housing Fund.

Freight and Logistics: Planning

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government how they assess and measure thevalue to the UK economy of freight and logistics in the formulation of any new planning framework.

Baroness Swinburne: The Government has launched a call for evidence on the interaction between freight and logistics and the planning system in England. The evidence we receive will help underpin any new or amended planning policies that reflect the government’s vision and expectations for local planning authorities in planning for freight.The call for evidence closes on 9 October 2023.

Department for Work and Pensions

Young People: Cost of Living and Mental Health

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by The Prince's Trust and LADbibleGen Z: Redefining Dream Jobs, published on 19 September; in particular, the finding that 57 per cent of young people surveyed had lowered their long-term aspirations over the last two years due to concerns about mental health and the increased cost of living.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: Whilst we are yet to make a detailed assessment of this specific report, the Department for Work and Pensions recognises the value of research and insight from key stakeholders including The Prince’s Trust to enable us to better understand the challenges faced by young people and the impact this has on their behaviour and motivations. We consider a broad range of perspectives when designing polices to better support young people, ranging from our regular engagement with youth stakeholder organisations like The Prince’s Trust and Youth Employment Group, to the Department’s own commissioned research and regularly speaking directly with young people themselves. The Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support for 16-24-year olds on Universal Credit to help them find work. Eligibility for the Youth Offer has, as of the 25th September 2023, been expanded to include young people on Universal Credit who are not currently searching for work, including young parents and carers. This means that an additional 33,500 young people will be able to access the Youth Offer in order to progress in employment.

Department for Education

Schools: Stationery and Uniforms

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to support parents with back-to-school costs, including (1) uniform, and (2) stationery.

Baroness Barran: The government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has provided £94 billion to support households with higher costs across 2022/23 and 2023/24.Additional cost of living payments of up to £900 will be made in 2023/24 to households on means tested benefits.The government is investing up to £30 million in the National School Breakfast Programme until the end of the summer term in 2024. This funding will support up to 2,700 schools in disadvantaged areas, meaning that thousands of children from low-income families will be offered free nutritious breakfasts to better support their attainment, wellbeing, and readiness to learn.Rather than subsiding expensive uniform policies with financial assistance, the department published statutory guidance on the cost of school uniform to ensure uniform is affordable for all families. The guidance came into force in September 2022 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cost-of-school-uniforms/cost-of-school-uniforms.Schools must be mindful of this guidance when designing and implementing their uniform policy. The guidance requires schools to ensure that their uniform is affordable and secures best value for money for parents.There is no specific funding for schools to support families to meet the costs of school uniform, but schools may offer additional support in cases of financial hardship where they choose to do so.No specific support is provided for the purchase of stationery.

Out-of-School Education

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the (1) mean, and (2) median, amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school.

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government how many safeguarding concerns have been recorded regarding unregistered alternative providers in England.

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any minimum standards for an unregistered alternative provider which provides education placements for school-aged pupils to operate in England.

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government whether there are any safeguarding checks or requirements for an unregistered alternative provider that provides education placements for school-aged pupils in England.

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government how often Ofsted inspect unregistered alternative providers that provides education placements for school-aged pupils in England.

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government whether schools or local authorities that commission unregistered alternative providers require checks on the proprietor and staff before placing pupils in their care.

Baroness Barran: The department does not hold information about the mean and median amounts spent by a school or local authority on an unregistered alternative provider place in England for (a) pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan, (b) pupils classified as a Child In Need, (c) Pupil Premium Pupils, and (d) pupils excluded from school. Commissioning arrangements are managed directly by schools and local authorities who require the provision, and they do not report their expenditure at the level of detail requested.The department also does not routinely collect data on the number of safeguarding concerns that have taken place in unregistered APs. Commissioners are responsible for the AP they use and ensuring that it is safe.The Alternative Provision (AP) statutory guidance is clear that AP, including unregistered AP, should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience and safeguarding checks. The guidance can be found in the attached document. Responsibility for the AP used rests with the commissioner. The nature of the intervention, its objectives and the timeline to achieve these objectives should be agreed and clearly defined.Some local authorities or partnerships of schools have developed a local directory of ‘approved’ provision, which meets clearly defined standards, including registration where necessary, safeguarding, health and safety, quality of accommodation, quality of education etc. These lists, where they exist, can provide a helpful starting point. However, prior to placement, commissioners should still assess whether the provision offers high quality education and is suitable for the pupil’s individual needs.‘Keeping children safe in education’ is statutory guidance to which all schools and colleges must have regard when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, and can be found in the attached document. The guidance states that where a school places a pupil in AP, the school continues to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the AP that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, for example, those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff.Ofsted does not inspect individual unregistered AP settings unless they are part of a criminal investigation where there are concerns that the provider may be operating illegally as an independent school. Any provider of AP must be registered as an independent school if it caters full time for five or more pupils of compulsory school age, or one pupil who is looked after or has an education, health and care plan. Under Section 97 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the Unregistered Schools Team does not inspect the quality of the provision or the safeguarding arrangements.The School Inspection Handbook states that during school inspections, inspectors will evaluate how well a school continues to take responsibility for its pupils who attend AP, including in unregistered AP. The Handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-inspection-handbook-eif/school-inspection-handbook-for-september-2023. Inspectors will normally visit a sample of any part-time unregistered AP during the inspection. This is to assess the adequacy of the school’s quality assurance process. A school is likely to be judged inadequate for leadership and management if it is making ineffective or inappropriate use of AP, failing to ensure the suitability of a provision, being unaware of the number of their pupils attending AP or not taking responsibility for their pupils who attend AP.From January 2023, Ofsted is inspecting the local authority commissioning of AP as part of Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspections. The Area SEND inspection Handbook states that in doing so inspectors will consider whether the local authority’s use of unregistered and online provision is lawful and appropriate to children and young people’s needs. The Handbook can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook.HL9966_AP_guidance  (pdf, 242.4KB)HL9966_Keeping_children_Safe_guidance (pdf, 1244.1KB)

Schools: Capital Investment

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to update the information on their 'Capital funding for free schools, UTCs and studio schools' webpage; and why the webpage has not been updated since February 2020.

Baroness Barran: The department publishes capital costs for all free schools on GOV.UK once all works have been completed and costs are finalised. Given that these can be large and complex projects, this can take some time between first opening and publication. A further batch of costs will be published in due course.The department also publishes details of all free school construction contracts awarded over £10,000 on Contracts Finder at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. In addition, information relating to sites and buildings acquired as part of the free schools programme can be found on the Land Registry. This includes the acquisition and sale price.

Public Sector and Schools: Cybersecurity

Lord Bassam of Brighton: To ask His Majesty's Government, following several recent school closures resulting from cyberattacks, what steps they are taking to ensure (1) schools, and (2) other public services, have good cyber resilience.

Baroness Barran: The Department recognises that cyber security is a concern for many schools and academy trusts. To support schools with this, the Department released Cyber Security Standards in October 2022, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-digital-and-technology-standards-in-schools-and-colleges/cyber-security-standards-for-schools-and-colleges. These standards provide a base level requirement for good cyber security practices in schools, helping to raise resilience across the sector and make schools harder targets. Many of the areas suggested for improvement are low cost or free to implement.The Department’s Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) has more than 9,500 member schools, which constitutes 43% of eligible schools in England, and includes cover for cyber incidents as standard from the 2022/23 membership years. In the event of a cyber incident, RPA members have access to a 24/7 incident response service. Since September 2022, cyber cover has been available to multi academy trust RPA members, provided they meet the required criteria.Jisc is the UK digital, data and technology agency focused on education, research and innovation. The Department continues to fund Jisc to provide quality connectivity and cyber security to Further Education colleges in England. In addition to network cyber security measures, Jisc provides advice, guidance, and training on cyber security, including alerts and information on identified security risks. This support includes access to a Cyber Security Incident Response Team. Jisc offers similar support to Higher Education, funded by the Office for Students.The Department also continues to work closely with the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) to identify incidents and conduct analysis to monitor and identify emerging cyber threats.Schools can access cyber security training for staff from the NCSC and the NCSC Active Cyber Defence tools are now available to all schools. These assist in protecting schools from a range of attacks. Further advice can be found on the NCSC schools’ website at: https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/cyber-security-schools.In the event of a cyber attack, the Department has a cyber security team who can provide advice and guidance to assist with recovery. To report an incident and receive support, schools can contact: sector.incidentreporting@education.gov.uk. Schools are also encouraged to report all cyber incidents to Action Fraud via their reporting site here: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/. The Department will continue to develop the support and tools offered to schools and academy trusts to improve their cyber security and resilience. This will help to streamline reporting and data capture and improve mutual understanding between the Department and schools.

Apprentices: Taxation

Lord Storey: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total amount of apprenticeship levy unspent and returned to the Treasury in each of the past five years.

Baroness Barran: The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training.The government, via HM Revenue and Customs, collects the apprenticeship levy of 0.5% on total payroll from businesses across the UK with a payroll of more than £3 million. From this, HM Treasury (HMT) sets an English apprenticeships budget for the department. The apprenticeships levy is UK wide, and income from the levy also supports the devolved administrations to invest in their skills programmes.The department’s apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in all employers, levy and non-levy paying employers alike, across England, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. This means that levy payers’ unspent funds are used to support additional costs and apprenticeships in smaller employersThe table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget and spend together with budget underspends for the last five financial years (FY).(£ million)FY 18/19FY 19/20FY 20/21FY 21/22 FY 22/23DfE Ring-fence Apprenticeships Budget£2,321m£2,469m£2,467m£2,466m£2,554mTotal Ring-fence Apprenticeship Spend £1,738m£1,919m£1,863£2,455£2,458mUnderspends against Ring-fenced Apprenticeships Budget £493m£550m£604m£11m£96m In the last two financial years, on average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent.   Any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the FY are first returned to HMT, as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance. As employers choose which apprenticeships they offer and when, annual spend of the apprenticeship budget is subject to employer demand.

Free Schools: Construction

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to provide detailed surveys to identify issues such as asbestos and unstable concrete before purchasing sites for free schools.

Baroness Barran: LocatED is the government owned property company responsible for buying and developing free school sites. The department works closely with LocatED and remains committed to acquiring suitable, safe and affordable sites in order to deliver new school places.Technical experts carry out due diligence prior to acquisition to make sure sites are safe. The risks associated with these sites are taken into full consideration as part of the acquisition process. This is in line with standard industry practice.

Teachers: Termination of Employment

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government which (1) age group, and (2) other demographic groups, left the teaching profession in the greatest numbers in each of the past five years.

Baroness Barran: Information on the school workforce in England, including the number and characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, working pattern and post) of teachers joining and leaving service nationally, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication, available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Leavers are defined as qualified teachers leaving the state funded sector in England, for example due to a change of career or joining other UK education sectors, and those leaving on career breaks such as maternity leave or secondments outside of the school sector. Some of these teachers may rejoin a state funded school in England at a later date.

Schools: Cricket

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government how many state schools in the last ten years had grounds that were used for playing cricket; and what steps they are taking toincrease access for state schools for participation in cricket.

Baroness Barran: The department does not collect data about which sports pupils participate in on school premises during the school day.Schools can organise and deliver a diverse and challenging PE and school sport activities which best suits the needs of their pupils. Factors influencing that decision include the spaces available along with the available equipment.Where schools provide specific sports such as cricket, the department encourages them to draw on support from the relevant national governing body. The England and Wales Cricket Board offer a wide range of resources and age appropriate guidance and advice for delivering cricket in schools.On 8 March 2023, the department announced over £600 million across the next two academic years for the Primary PE and Sport Premium, and £57 million up to March 2025 for the Opening School Facilities programme. Schools in England can use funding from these programmes to increase provision and raise the quality of sports such as cricket.

Universities: Care Leavers

Lord Laming: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the number of care leavers who have access to university education.

Baroness Barran: This government is committed to ensuring that all care leavers are supported to succeed in education and achieve positive outcomes. The ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ strategy sets out the department’s plans to reform the children’s social care system, including improving the education, employment and training outcomes of children in care and care leavers. This includes, from 2027, a year-on-year narrowing of the gap in care leaver higher education participation rates compared to the general population.We will introduce a gold standard accreditation scheme for further and higher education institutions supporting care leavers, working with an expert advisory group to develop the accreditation in partnership with the sector, and will consult on plans to expand the Virtual School Head role to include children in care and care leavers up to age 25. Local authorities must also provide a £2,000 bursary for care leavers who go to university.

Music: GCE A-level and GCSE

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government how many entries there were for (1) GCSE, and (2) A level, in music for each of the past five years for which figures are available; and of these, how many entries were from (a) fee-paying schools, and (b) the maintained sector.

Baroness Barran: In 2022, the government published the national plan for music education to allow all children and young people in England the opportunity to progress their musical interests and talents, including professionally.The plan addresses how the department will achieve this vision by 2030. This includes schools and academy trusts having clear approaches to supporting their pupils to progress with music beyond the age of 14, including opportunities to study music qualifications, such as graded exams, GCSEs, A levels and vocational and technical qualifications.The number of pupils entering GCSE music in all state funded and independent institutions between the 2017/18 and 2021/22 academic years is available in the links below.Data relating to GCSE entries in 2022/23 will be available in October 2023.The number of pupils entering GCSE relates to those at the end of Key Stage 4.The number of A level entries by pupils aged 16 to 18 in England in music since 2017/18 academic year can be found in the link below. The published data available includes a breakdown for state-funded pupils (those in state-funded schools and further education colleges) and all pupils (which additionally includes pupils in independent schools, hospital schools, Pupil Referral Units, and Alternative Provision). However, for A levels in music the difference in entries is almost entirely from independent schools.Data relating to A level entries in 2022/23 will be available in November 2023.The number of pupils entering GCSE music are available in the following links for each academic year:2017/18: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F806278%2F2018_Revised_Subject_Tables.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK (see table S7a).2018/19: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F863126%2F2019_Revised_KS4_Subject_data.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK (see table KS4 subject data)2019/20: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/f5cae452-3991-4e3b-448d-08dbb04e0e5c.2020/21: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/fe5c98f1-c162-4f2e-4937-08dbb04c73a2.2021/22:https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/26fd8ef3-ffda-4e4f-448e-08dbb04e0e5c. The number of pupils entering A level music for academic years 2017/18 to 2021/22 is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/debe1398-86a0-4b07-5a7f-08dbb9ac4483.

Pupils: Social Services

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Action for Children’s report, The Educational Outcomes of Children Referred to Children’s Social Care: A Revolving Doors Report, published on 22 August, and data from the annual children in need census, what assessment they have made of the gap in educational attainment between children who have interacted with the children’s social care system, and their peers who have not.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the educational attainment and GCSE results of children who interact with the children’s social care system.

The Lord Bishop of Durham: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, beyond the school gates, to provide support to children who have interacted with the children’s social care system.

Baroness Barran: Our analysis for reporting year ending March 2022 for children in social care shows:At Key Stage 2, the percentage of all pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in 2022 was 59%, compared to 29% for children in social care, also called children in need (CIN), which includes looked-after children.At Key Stage 4, the percentage of all pupils achieving grade 5-9 in English and Maths in 2022 was 50%, compared to 12% for CIN pupils.After accounting for a wide range of factors such as rates of special educational need in these cohorts, children who have interacted with the social care system were around 25-50% less likely to achieve grades 5-9 in GCSE English and Maths, compared to pupils who were not in social care.The government has put in place a number of measures to support the educational attainment of looked-after children. Every local authority in England must appoint a Virtual School Head, who has a statutory duty to promote the educational achievement of all children in their care, wherever they live or are educated. Looked-after children attract Pupil Premium Plus funding of £2,530 per child up to age 16, which is managed by the Virtual School Head, working with the child’s education setting to deliver objectives in their individual Personal Education Plans.‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ sets out our strategy to reform the children’s social care system, including improving the education, employment, and training outcomes of children in care and care leavers. The department will introduce a gold standard accreditation scheme for further and higher education institutions supporting care leavers, consult on plans to expand the Virtual School Head role to include children in care and care leavers up to age 25, and roll out a further £24 million in Pupil Premium Plus style funding between 2023 and 2025 to bolster educational support available to children in care and care leavers in 16-19 education.The Children in Need Review, which concluded in June 2019, identified for the first time that 1.6 million children needed a social worker between 2012 and 2018, and that these children have worse educational outcomes at every stage, with children who need a social worker in their GCSE year being 50% as likely to achieve a strong pass in English and Maths as their peers.To address this, in June 2021 the department extended Virtual School Head duties to include all children with a social worker, giving them a strategic leadership role to champion the educational attendance, attainment, and progress of children with a social worker. This means that they have a lead role in levelling up educational outcomes for children with a social worker and narrowing the attainment gap, so every child has the opportunity to reach their potential.We recently announced over £1 billion for programmes to improve early help services from birth to adulthood, including delivering on Family Hubs and helping families facing multiple-disadvantage through the Supporting Families programme and Holiday Activities and Food programme. Investing in support for families helps children to have happy, healthy childhoods. It can stop issues escalating and help them to achieve better outcomes. The Supporting Families Programme has supported over half a million families, to make sustained improvements to their lives, and is projected to help a further 300,000.In ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, we outlined our plans to build on the strengths of current early help services, through the creation of family help. These reforms are central to ensuring children growing up with loving relationships and stability. The department is creating a service which meets the whole needs of a family and works to their strengths, delivered by multi-disciplinary teams working collaboratively with their local partners. Through the £45 million Families First for Children Pathfinder programme, we will test implementation in up to 12 local areas over two years and help assess requirements to achieve meaningful change system-wide.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Sizewell C Power Station: Investment

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to ensure that prospective investors in the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power plant undergo strict national security checks.

Lord Callanan: The Government is clear that, whilst we welcome investment in sectors including civil nuclear, this can never be at the expense of national security.As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 18th September, should any investor’s shareholding in the Sizewell C project reach the relevant statutory thresholds, the investor will be required to pass through the process set out in the National Security and Investment Act 2021, allowing scrutiny of any risks posed with respect to this legislation.In addition, as a condition of the Secretary of State’s designation of Sizewell C Limited in accordance with section 2(1) of the Nuclear Energy (Financing) Act 2022, the Secretary of State must have the ability to take a special share in the company. The rights attached to the special share are subject to approval by the Secretary of State but will likely be limited to protecting national security interests with respect to the project and complementary to the provisions of the National Security and Investment Act 2021, alongside other, related matters.

Electricity Generation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thePower Responsive project that has been launched by the Electricity System Operator.

Lord Callanan: National Grid Electricity System Operator’s (ESO) Power Responsive campaign is one of the principal stakeholder forums that promotes a more flexible approach to electricity consumption (known as demand side response), which can help to drive decarbonisation, bolster our energy security and create savings for consumers.The Government will continue to work with ESO, Ofgem and industry to support Power Responsive in its work to remove barriers to increased participation in demand side response.

Business: Carbon Emissions

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support businesses and organisations that are struggling to implement their decarbonisation plans.

Lord Callanan: The Government has brought together senior business and finance leaders on the Net Zero Council. The Council addresses the appetite from the business and finance communities to create a partnership with UK government to deliver net zero and capture the benefits of this transition in the UK. The Government has relaunched the UK Business Climate Hub, which provides free, detailed advice on how SMEs can reduce their emissions and signposts funding opportunities. The £500m Industrial Energy Transformation Fund supports energy intensive industries to decarbonise and the Department is piloting a Business Energy Advice Service to support SMEs.

Home Office

Forced Marriage: Children

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government how many child marriage protection orders were issued in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government whether therehave been any child marriage convictions in the UK since the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 came into effect in February 2023.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The UK is a world leader in the fight to stamp out the practice of forced marriage, with our dedicated Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) leading efforts to combat it both at home and abroad.The new legislation which came into force in February this year is intended to proactively close potential loopholes and make prosecution under the existing law easier by removing the need to prove the use of coercion, which may require evidence from the victim. The FMU has undertaken a range of activity to raise awareness of the extended offence.Data on convictions for criminal offences is published by the Ministry of Justice. The latest publication is to December 2022, before the extended offence came into force.Additionally, we protect both adults and children with our Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs) and have criminalised the breach of FMPOs once in place. The number of forced marriage protection orders made in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021 and (4) 2022 can be found in the table attached. Table (png, 33.0KB)

Biometric Residence Permits

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time taken for a person to receive their biometric residence permit after being granted refugee status.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The information is not available publicly and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: Pollution

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what monitoring iscurrentlyor planned to be carried out of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons emitted from road run-off; and what assessment has been made of this pollution, and particulate pollution, from electric vehicles.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: National Highways, in collaboration with the Environment Agency, have recently undertaken further in-situ monitoring of a range of chemical determinands, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, as part of its recent Phase 2 microplastic field monitoring programme on the strategic road network. The project was completed earlier this year (2023) and the report and findings will be published on National Highways’ website shortly.The Department commissioned a 4-year research project in February 2021 to investigate the measurement techniques, materials properties and control parameters of brake and tyre wear emissions from road vehicles. The project will also assess differences in particulate emission from tyre and brake wear in electric vehicles compared to petrol/diesel vehicles.

Freight

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to seek examples and best practice in the formulation of freight and logistics plans.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Department seeks to implement plans and policies that best support the UK freight and logistics sector. The 2022 ‘Future of Freight: A long-term plan’ was developed in close collaboration with industry and sets out a cross-modal approach towards a freight and logistics sector that is cost efficient, reliable, resilient, environmentally sustainable and valued by society. Our ministers regularly engage the freight industry on the implementation of this plan along with other best practice issues; be this through fora such as DfT’s quarterly Freight Council and its delivery groups, or ad hoc discussions with industry leaders. My Department is also working collaboratively with industry to further invest in the sector, both by promoting its career opportunities through the Generation Logistics campaign, and in awarding £8million to improve lorry parking facilities. Additionally, we remain outward facing, sharing with and learning from international partners to ensure the UK freight network continues to protect our economic security.